Police stress on ‘stay-at-home’ message with novel methods

Persons found loitering made to do squats, promise to obey the law

01/04/2020, R. SIVARAMAN,CHENNAI

Lesson learnt: Over 15 persons who violated the prohibitory orders were made to do squats in Puzhal.Special Correspondent

As people continue defying the lockdown and loiter on roads without reason, police personnel in the city have resorted to novel methods to make people realise the importance of staying indoors.

At 1.30 p.m. on Monday, the scene on Puzhal Camp road resembled a gym — over 15 persons, lined up under the scorching sun, were made to do half-squats by a woman sub-inspector.

She first demonstrated how to do the exercise. The violators were then made to follow the drill, over the next 20 minutes.

Jayanthi, a sub-inspector of police, said: “People don’t understand the seriousness of a lockdown. They just saunter around. Some of them said that they came out to visit their friends. We have to effectively implement law and order by adopting these methods.”

At Ennore Wimco Nagar, the police caught people on the road and made them do squats.

They were also made to repeat: “Hereafter, we will not step out anywhere. We will obey the orders of the government.”

Another group at the Maduvoyal police station was made to repeat, “We will cooperate with the police and government authorities. We will wear masks.”

Red Hills Inspector P. Jawahar asked people, gathered on the roadside, to stand in lines, holding placards stating that they would obey the prohibitory orders.

A police officer told the violators, “You are all well-educated and should realise your mistake. You should go and tell people in your neighbourhood that they must not step out unnecessarily, when a lockdown is in place, and that the disease may spread faster if people keep coming out.”

Jumping quarantine

The police also pulled up a person from the crowd who had returned from a foreign country recently and was told to stay under home quarantine.

A police officer asked him, “Why you are coming out, sir? You have been to foreign countries where you obeyed the law. But here, you don’t. You are educated. So why did you come out, and that too without wearing a mask?”

He was whisked away to the police station and a case was booked against him for violating the law.

Assistant Commissioner, Flower Bazaar, Lakshmanan, made violators read out a statement that they would not come out unnecessarily hereafter, during lockdown.